For The Love Of Death
by Calfuray
Summary: Keladry has murdered Death, and now must continue on as the new Grim Reaper. But he's quite unlike anything Halloween Town's seen before, and instead of ending lives, the Powers That Be will be lucky if Kelly doesn't prance about merrily...HELPING people.
1. Thanatos

**The Nightmare Before Christmas**

**For The Love Of Death**

**Chapter One: Thanatos**

* * *

Kelly stared up through a haze of shock at the hooded figure standing above him, the gun still smoking in his hands. He trembled, hissing through bared teeth as It drew closer, scythe glinting in the sun. His chest felt so _wrong_; broken, raw and…soggy was the only word to describe that awful sense of collapse.

"You've been shot, little one," said the dark thing, but It's voice was soft and kind; not monstrous at all. It bent down, a skeletal hand hovering over the gaping hole through the boy's lung and now mangled ribcage. "Shh, it's alright," It said softly when Kelly whimpered and tried to shy away. "Everything will okay soon. My name is Thanatos, Keladry Elric. Yes, I know who you are."

"Tha-Thanatos…?" Kelly murmured, his voice shaking. He was having trouble breathing, but strangely he wasn't in any pain. "…De-death…"

"Smart boy," Thanatos replied, a smile in his voice. "Just relax; I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry this had to happen. It's going to be over very soon…"

Suddenly Kelly wanted to cry, and turned his head away from Death's obscured face to hide the tears stinging his eyes. That's when he saw the body, lying crumpled against the wall beneath a long streak of blood. It was such a violent shade of red, and abruptly he wanted to scream but he just couldn't get enough air…

He looked back at Thanatos, gripping he pistol weakly. "I-I'm…dying….are-aren't I?"

"Yes," Thanatos said gently. "I promise it won't hurt. You just sleep now, everything will be alright."

But Kelly was shaking, an unadulterated terror coiling deep in his gut. _I don't want to die…I don't want to go…_he thought as panic set in. _I wanted to stay here…I wanted to stay…! I have to take care of them__…_

It was then that a window blew open as the north wind rushed into the room, upsetting a stream of golden dust motes before it flew over them, throwing the Reaper's hood as it passed. What Kelly saw made his heart seize, and unbidden the pistol leapt up and fired, right into the eyeless socket of Thanatos' grim, grinning skull. Its body was thrown back, and landed with a strangely solid _thump_ upon the floor.

Kelly let his hand drop, the gun slipping from his fingers, as instantly his breath returned in full force. At once he began to scream.

.xXx.

Nikodemos Skellington, youngest son of the infamous Pumpkin King Jack, was not sure what to make of Easter. His father had explained it to him some years ago, but he failed to see how pink rabbits and colored chocolate eggs had anything to do with some guy getting nailed to a tree for suggesting that everyone be nice to each other. It seemed quite ironic to the Pumpkin Prince that this particular holiday, one which he could only describe as "bubbly", would symbolize death.

Granted, Halloween Town's version of Easter was anything but cheerful. They'd made sure all the eggs were sufficiently rotten before painting them in macabre colors and distorted designs. Now the streets were prevalent with that unmistakable stench as somebody smashed another one, whooping off in the distance.

"Hey there, sweet Prince."

Demos turned to find Lock coming up the path towards him, his red devil's tail swish-swishing in his wake. He had grown in the past few centuries into a tall and sinewy being, his adolescent appearance belying his actual age. Demos turned and smiled at his old friend.

"Hello, Lock," he greeted amiably, brushing away the tail as it attempted to slide playfully up his leg. "Come on, don't tease."

"Aw, but you're so cute," Lock chuckled. "It's a shame you're a boy…"

"Honestly, I don't know why you flirt, and then refuse the sheets," Demos pouted. "That's just mean."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Lock said, not sorry in the least. Demos just shook his head, sighing softly in exasperation. It was useless to expect contriteness from a devil.

"But what can I say? Tail's got a mind of its own," his friend continued, with an exaggerated shrug. "I like girls, my sweet little lambs. You know that."

"Well, I think you like seeing me all hot and bothered," the Prince cheekily replied. "You're an egotistical bastard like that. But if you really would prefer the concave, I know a girl who'd just _love_ to have you for dinner…"

"As much as I like your sister, I'd rather _not _get myself eviscerated this early in the morning, thank you very much," Lock said delicately.

"So Jezabel already had a go at you, huh?" Demos grinned.

"Well, now that you mention it, yes, I did have a minor encounter with the shrew," Lock muttered. "Nearly broke my tail, too…"

"Nearly? That's a shame," Demos agreed. "I would have hoped she'd at least get rid of the troublesome thing."

"Hey!" the devil cried, grasping his tail and looking scandalized. Demos laughed.

"Anyway…Did you want something in particular, or are you just here to bug me?"

"Actually, it's the Mayor. He wants to go over the plans for next Halloween with Jeza, but you know she can't stand him," Lock said, smirking. Demos gave a low chuckle, and nodded understandingly.

"I see. She wants me to take her place, is that it?"

"You hit it right on the mark."

Demos sighed, exasperated, and ran hand across his face. The Mayor, once such an indecisive and weak-willed fellow, had gained something of an ego over the past few years. He was bolder now, having ceased running to Jack about every little thing some time ago, and somewhere along the way developed a pompousness no one could stand for very long. It was a well-known fact that Jeza particularly disliked the man, and Demos was inclined to agree with his twin, though he managed to mask his feelings with far more success than she.

"Alright," he conceded. "Lead the way."

.xXx.

"BE QUIET!"

Kelly stopped screaming at once, startled into silence by the sudden voice. Dust had been shaken from the warehouse rafters by its sheer booming magnitude, and echoes continued to roll of the walls for several seconds afterward. There was an air of command in that tone that demanded obedience, and he found he was quite helpless to do anything other than immediately comply.

"That's better," said the voice, and Kelly chanced to look up. A stooped old woman stood in the doorway, leaning heavily upon a cane and regarding him with eyes like flint. Slowly, she shambled forward, and on instinct Kelly rose to assist her…and stopped in his tracks.

"Yes, the bullet wound's gone," the woman said in gravelly tones as he stared in bewilderment. His shirt was ripped and saturated red, but the hole in his chest was gone, leaving only a savage scar as testimony that it had ever been there at all.

"This…Is this real…?" Kelly whispered, tripping back in astonishment. "It's got be a dream, this just isn't possible…"

"I'm afraid this is quite real," the woman replied. "My name is Atropos, the Incarnation of Fate, and there's been a mistake. You were not meant to assume this Office…"

"What are you talking about?" Kelly cried shrilly, starting to panic. "What mistake? What office—"

It was then that his foot hit something, and he staggered, falling back onto something soft. But then he looked down to find he was sitting on his own corpse. In that instant, he lost his mind. Screaming his guts out, he hurled himself away, flesh crawling as he stared into his own glassy eyes…

A sharp slap resounded throughout the empty warehouse, and Kelly gaped at the woman in stunned silence.

"Pull yourself together, lad," she told him sternly, in a voice that absolutely would not tolerate insubordination. "You're not dead; far from it, actually. You're immortal, now. At least until the next Death kills you."

"Wait…what?"

"Come on, deary," Atropos said, trying to sound gentler. "Let's…go somewhere else, and I'll explain everything."

Kelly dazedly allowed himself to be led out of the warehouse to a nearby park, where Atropos seated herself upon a bench and motioned for him to follow. He anxiously perched himself on the edge, glancing back worriedly.

"Sh-shouldn't we tell someone…? There's two…"

"Don't you worry about that, it'll be taken care of," Atropos replied. "Now, would you like some chocolate?"

"Huh?"

"Here," she said, holding out a Hershey's bar. "It'll make you feel better." Kelly accepted the candy numbly, and nodded his thanks.

"Um…back there…I saw—"

"What you saw was the Incarnation of Death," Atropos explained. "Dressed as the Grim Reaper and riding a pale horse, he is but one of the seven Incarnations. The others are Time, Nature, War, Fate, Good, and Evil. However, these titles are merely the titles of Offices. Like you, we are all human beings, given the powers of our Offices until it comes time for us to step down…or in your case, be overthrown."

"Overthrown?"

"If Death, or Thanatos if you prefer, is killed by a mortal then that mortal shall take his place," Atropos said. "You have killed Death, and now you must take his Office. You are now the Grim Reaper."

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Kelly cried, jumping up. "What are you saying? That…that I have to kill people now?"

"You've already done so," Atropos pointed out.

"Th-that was…I didn't mean…" Kelly stammered, and shook his head. "What was I supposed to do? He was a skeleton!"

"That's not who I meant."

Kelly opened his mouth, but there was nothing he could say. A tight feeling clutched at his heart, and he looked away.

"But that doesn't matter now," Atropos went on quietly. "As I said, all Incarnations are human. What you saw was an illusion."

Kelly blinked, and looked up at her in horror. "You mean…what I shot…was a person?" The need to sit down was imperative, and he complied as quickly as possible, putting his head in his hands. "Oh god…"

Atropos rubbed his back soothingly as he tried to get his breathing under control, trembling all over. Despite the circumstances, her heart went out to the poor child, and a wave of sympathy overtook her.

"You won't have to kill people," she said softly. "Only collect their souls as they depart."

"Thousands of people die every day," Kelly protested weakly. "How am I supposed to get to them all?"

"You're very presence allows most to die without your assistance," she answered. "However, there are some whose souls are balanced in both good and evil, and thus will not be able to get to their respective resting places without your help."

"You mean…Heaven and Hell?"

"Yes. These souls you will have to collect yourself, and personally send them to wherever they need to go."

"You said…this was a mistake, and that you were Fate," Kelly began slowly. "Couldn't you have done something?"

Atropos ducked her head a little in embarrassment. "I was…distracted, and by the time I noticed what was to happen, it was already too late."

"Oh…" Kelly said, unable to think of anything else to say. A part of him resented such a careless mistake, but another breathed a sigh of relief that his life had been spared.

"I'm…sorry this happened, Kelly," she said, sounding genuinely apologetic. He just nodded, but felt a little better. "Usually, those chosen for the Office of Death have nothing else to live for."

"What do I do now?" he asked.

"First, call Mortis. He should have everything you require," Atropos said. "After that, I'm afraid you'll be on your own. Just remember, the Office of Death and its responsibilities are yours now, whether you wanted them or not. If you need me, I or the other Incarnations will be in touch."

With that, and a curt nod, she vanished. There was no smoke or noise, it was just as if she'd never been, and Kelly was alone with his thoughts. He stared at the spot where she'd stood, then, without any other direction in which to go, he began walking home.

He'd only taken about five steps, though, when he suddenly stopped.

"My body!" he cried. "I can't let them find it!"

Turning on his heels, he raced back towards the warehouse, sneakers pounding the pavement until he rushed out of the park and skidded to a halt before the warehouse doors. Trying not to look at the corpse slumped against the wall, made his way towards his own. It took a moment to gather his courage, but finally his quelled the bile rising in his throat, grabbed himself around the waist and began to drag his body towards the door.

There, he balked. It was broad daylight, and there was no way someone wouldn't notice him hauling a corpse through the streets. On top of that, he wasn't sure where he could possibly take himself anyway.

Something glinted out of the corner of his eye, and turning his head he spotted a white limousine that had not been there before, parked just to his left. He would have ignored it, had the license plate not caught his eye. It read RIGOR MORTIS. Carefully, he set himself down and walked over to investigate, laying a careful hand upon the vehicle.

"Could you be…?"

The car shifted, glimmering brightly in the light and so abruptly changed into a great white stallion that Kelly leapt back in surprise. The horse turned its head and whinnied, pawing at the ground with one enormous hoof. Despite its size, however, it did not look very healthy. Completely emaciated, its bones protruded everywhere, and it alabaster skin clung was so tightly drawn the creature appeared almost skeletal.

_Death rides a pale horse…_ he thought before timidly asking, "Are you…Mortis?"

Unsurprisingly, the creature gave a short nod, and eyed the body.

"You can set that in the trunk if you really want to hide it," the steed said, his voice sounding in Kelly's mind rather than his ears, and for a second the boy was rather dumbfounded. At the moment, though, he was already in such a state of shock that he accepted this quite readily. Without a word, he turned and proceeded to drag his body towards this strange creature, which turned back into the limousine and popped the trunk. Once the body was stowed away, Kelly timidly slid into the driver's seat and laid his hands upon the steering wheel.

"Can you drive?" asked Mortis, his voice coming from the radio this time.

"Well, I have a license, but I never drove something this big before…"

"That's not a problem. I can take us wherever we need to go. Now, little Master, where's the first stop?"

"Hold on," Kelly said. "_I'm_…your Master?"

"Correct."

"Who says?"

Mortis paused for a moment. "If you desire another mount, I believe you can request one in Limbo…"

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Kelly said hurriedly. "Who says I'm your Master?"

"It has been so for as long as I can remember," the limo replied. "I have served those who take the Office of Death since the beginning. Now, where do you wish to go?"

"Somewhere we can dump m—the body," Kelly replied, and the car purred to life.

"I know just the place."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas, or the characters therein. Neither do I own Mortis, Thanatos, or Fate, who are characters of the great and mighty Piers Anthony. The whole thing with the Offices of Immortality is also his creation, but since I haven't read the books in a while I decided to take some liberties with his ideas. Mortis, for example, couldn't talk. I just decided it was more convenient, and full of awesome. Kelly and the Skellington kids are mine, though.**

Welcome to yet another Brain-Child of mine! I've had this idea for a while, and when it wouldn't go away I decided to write it down. It took me even longer to post it though, due in part to the large amount of laziness I have. However, I really like the idea of a crossover of _On a Pale Horse_ and _The Nightmare Before Christmas_, with a dash of anything else that catches my fancy. That's why I love fanfiction—I can "reference" anything I want, and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it! HA! Take that, lawyers!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please don't forget to review!

Calfuray


	2. Death's Accessories

**The Nightmare Before Christmas**

**For The Love Of Death**

**Chapter Two: Death's Accessories**

* * *

Jack Skellington looked up as his daughter meandered through the Mayor's door, but his expression darkened upon seeing who it actually was. Demos faltered a moment, inwardly cursing his bad luck.

_Lock didn't tell me _Dad_ was here, too!_ he bemoaned silently as he did his best impersonation of Jezabel. Judging from the elder bone-demon's narrowed eyes and set jaw-line, Jack wasn't buying the act.

"Jezabel, my girl!" the Mayor called, clapping Demos heartily on the back and pulling him towards the desk, currently buried beneath a veritable mountain of documented legalities. "Glad you could make it! You'll soon become Duchess, lass, and it's high time you learned the finer tricks of the trade. Now, here we have…"

Demos, having long ago acquired the ability to tune out the official, stole a glance at Jack. His father gave him one last piercing look before shaking his head, a ghost of a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. The Prince smiled in return and settled back to wait for the lecture to end—he'd heard it all before, anyway.

One thing he was glad for, though, was the Mayor had not recognized him. He and Jeza looked exactly alike, and for as long as he could remember, not one soul had ever been able to tell them apart—if the twins didn't want them to. To say the least, this proved exceedingly useful.

This time, however, Demos had made a mistake in not changing his wardrobe, and the both of them were sure to get the talking to of the century if the glint in Jack's eye sockets had anything to say about it. If only they'd worn the same outfit that morning…

"Hey…are you even listening?"

"Wha…?" Demos started, looking up to find Jack and the Mayor eyeing him disapprovingly, and grinned weakly in embarrassment. "Er…sorry. What did you say?"

"I _said_, dear girl," the Mayor huffed. "That a notice arrived this morning, announcing that Thanatos has been replaced, and that new executive has taken the Office of Death."

"There's a new Grim Reaper?" Demos said, interested. "That is news. Do you think he might come here?"

"Let's hope not," Jack replied. "The last one that wandered into our town almost killed the lot of us."

"Why?"

"Something about 'exorcizing the demons'," Jack said. "But that was a long time ago; I don't think we need to worry about it happening again."

"Why should he come, anyway?" the Mayor scoffed. "We're all undead here, or immortal, so why should it matter?"

"It matters more than you know," the Pumpkin King murmured quietly, but his answer went unheard.

.xXx.

Kelly knew the old cemetery was half-way across town, but Mortis had arrived there hardly one thousandth of a second after he'd spoken. Suddenly, the world outside the windows had blurred and settled, and they were there.

"Whoa," said Kelly eloquently. The engine rumbled with pleasure, and the door opened for him as he stepped out. Suddenly, Mortis was a horse again, Kelly's body draped across his back, ad he followed as Kelly hurriedly led him inside the gates.

"You don't need to worry," Mortis assured him as the new Reaper glanced about anxiously. "I will stand guard."

At that, Kelly calmed a bit, and set about for a suitable place to bury himself. He found it in a small copse of trees, removed somewhat from the sea of headstones, and looked about for something to dig with.

"Hey Mortis," he said after a moment. "Do I have a scythe?"

"Yes…" the horse replied before his ears flicked back, and he stamped. "You can't possibly mean…"

"Well, can you think of anything else to use?"

"The Death Scythe was not meant to dig graves!" Mortis barked, appalled. But Kelly held his ground (albeit nervously), until finally the creature assented, and a monstrous scythe appeared draped across his withers.

"Thank you," Kelly said, and Mortis snorted crossly.

"I can't believe you're using such a holy device for something like this…"

But Kelly ignored him, and drove the blade into the ground, noting with some satisfaction that he could weald the huge weapon with ease. However, it was still quite a while before he'd dug a sufficient grave, and by then he was streaked with dirt and who knew what else.

"Okay, lower the body down please," he called, and Mortis obeyed, gripping the corpse by the scruff and easing him into the grave, which Kelly quickly vacated. Hurriedly, he filled the dirt back in and dusted his hands, breathing a sigh of relief.

"There, that wasn't so bad."

"What was the point, may I ask?"

"Well, I don't want to be presumed dead," Kelly pointed out. "Mom would be devastated, that's for sure."

Mortis flicked his ears back, shifting his weight from one foot to the other uneasily. "…You cannot go back to your old life," he murmured.

"Why not?" the boy asked and cocked his head.

"Never mind," Mortis answered quietly. _You will find out soon enough._ "Come, there are souls that need harvesting."

"Alright."

Mortis became the limousine again, wincing slightly as Kelly got dirt on the seat when he climbed in. "Now, there are several items you need to know about in order to successfully fulfill your duties as Death," he began. "The first is a set of clothes in the back seat: _proper_ attire for a Grim Reaper. I suggest you change into them, Master."

"Yes sir," said Kelly meekly, and climbed into the backseat. There he found an outfit quite unlike anything he'd imagined. Knee-length, soft leather black boots stood upon the seat, smart black buttons marching up their sides. Across their toes lay a silk tunic, a sharp little vest, leather gloves, and slightly ballooning pants. Of course, all were of the deepest black, with silver crossbones for buttons and concealed pockets. On the other seat lay a magnificence hooded black cape of velvet, clasped with a bone-white skull.

Kelly picked up the garment and swirled it, admiring how it billowed before setting it down again. "Um…there wouldn't happen to be anything more…colorful, would there?" he asked.

"_Colorful?_" Mortis repeated incredulously. "You are Death! Death does not_ do_ colorful."

"Oh…sorry," Kelly murmured.

"Death does not apologize, either," Mortis continued, though his tone had softened somewhat. "Remember, you have come into a very prestigious Office, one that requires solemn dignity and grace. You must never prostrate yourself to anyone."

"Yes sir."

"Please…do not call me that," the radio sighed.

"Why not? How come you can call me Master, but I can't call you sir?"

"Because a person of your stature does not defer himself to his subordinates; I am but a servant, and you are my Master. That's all there is to it."

"Wouldn't it be better if we just worked together as equals?"

Mortis paused for a moment, stunned, unable to think of anything to say. "The second thing you need to acquaint yourself with is the Scythe," he said finally, choosing to ignore the question. "There is a compass set on the head that will point out the people in need of your care. Also note the handle is collapsible for convenient transport."

Kelly fingered the giant weapon—the thing was taller as he was—and looked at the golden compass, admiring the fine craftsmanship and detailed handiwork. He noticed the little needle did not point north, but to the southwest. The moment he saw this, he felt the Scythe begin to gently push against his hands, tugging at something in his mind. Kelly opened the car door and stepped outside, instinctively turning in the direction the Scythe wanted to go.

"I think it's found something," he said, walking a little ways before stopping in his tracks. The needle had suddenly switched directions, and was now pointing the other way. He looked around, but there was nothing but gravestones. "Mortis…you said this thing's supposed to point out people, right?"

"That's correct."

"Well, I think it's broken," Kelly said, walking back and forth a bit to be sure. But the needle never wavered, continuing to point unerringly towards an intimidating stone tomb rearing darkly against the night. The Scythe pulled harder, and Kelly was nearly thrown off balance from the thing's straining. "Maybe there's someone in there?"

"That is possible," Mortis replied, unconcerned. "The Death Scythe's never wrong. If it says to go there, it is best to listen."

"Do I really have to go in there?"

"Don the cape, Master, and nothing will hurt you as long as you keep your hood up," Mortis cautioned him. "Uncovered, you can easily be killed."

Kelly remembered his own encounter with Death, and shuddered. Suddenly uneasy, he hurried to retrieve the cloak and swirled it about his shoulders, clasping it beneath his chin. It had a weight to it, and all but enveloped his small frame within its folds, swishing just past his shins.

Pulling the hood up, Kelly found his eyesight was enhanced tenfold, and suddenly all the shadows and hidden places melted away. Gripping the Scythe, he approached the crypt, swallowed hard, and pulled open the doors.

* * *

_To be continued…_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the NBC or _Incarnations of Immortality_ characters, but for my own creations: Kelly, Nikodemos, Jezabel, and a few other OCs that haven't shown up yet. But if I did I would still write fanfiction about them.**

Welcome to Chapter Two of my first Nightmare fanfic! Hooray! I hoped you enjoyed it, 'cause I had fun writing it. At first, this was actually a part of the first chapter, but since that would make it twelve pages long I decided to cut it short and make all the stuff that happens here into chapter two. Sorry if it's a little short, but going into Halloween Town deserves its own chapter. Also, the first several chapters are going to be rather dramatic, so Kell won't do much prancing in them. he will later, though, don't worry.

Until next time,

Calfuray 


	3. The Pumpkin Town

**The Nightmare Before Christmas**

**For The Love Of Death**

**Chapter Three: The Pumpkin Town**

* * *

Inside, the crypt was as silent and cold as…well, death, actually. Wearing the hood, Kelly could see all the way down the stone stairway until it twisted off out of sight, everything shaded all tones of gray. It was as if the world had been sapped of color, and Kelly shivered, pulling the cloak tighter. 

Something nudged the small of his back, and Kelly startled, whirling to find Mortis standing behind him in horse form.

"Don't jump so, it's only me," Mortis reprimanded, at which Kelly grimaced. "Now go on, I'll be right behind you."

The boy nodded, gulped, and began to descend into a darkness he could not see, Mortis' hooves silent behind him. Turning, curious, he found that Mortis fit easily in what he'd thought was a narrow passage. It took a few moments, though, to realize that the very walls themselves were actually _moving_ to allow the Death Steed passage. Kelly shook his head and kept going; out of all the things that happened today, this wasn't very astounding.

As Kelly made his way further into the crypt he half expected the stairway to go on forever, but to his surprise, he only went about eight steps down before it leveled out and led straight back up again. There was nothing else; no dying stranger, no crouching monsters, no coffins, not even a secret passageway. It was completely anti-dramatic, and Kelly huffed irritably, vexed at having gotten all worked up over something so disappointingly pointless.

Frowning, he stomped up the other set of steps and shoved the door open.

"Well, that was the most worthless venture ever," he groused to himself. "Mortis are you sure this compass isn't broken?"

"Quite sure," Mortis replied smugly, and as Kelly took a good look around, he realized with growing anxiety that he wasn't in New York anymore. He was still in a graveyard, but somehow everything seemed…twisted. Literally, the tombstones jutted from the earth at odd angles, and the ground itself swirled up towards a curling hill, everything bathed in the light of a too huge moon. Kelly stared up at the pale orb uneasily, with the feeling that it was staring back, its face like a snarling jack-o-lantern…

"Where…are we?" he whispered, laying a timid hand on Mortis' withers, and the horse shook his head.

"I've never been here before."

Kelly glanced at the compass, which pointed through the cooked iron gates into a crooked town. Black, distorted buildings rose up like spires against an eternal night sky, the place lit with a strange glow that persisted even when Kelly temporarily—and cautiously—removed his hood.

Gripping the Death Scythe, Kelly made his way out of the cemetery and down the warped lane, scanning for danger for he felt that danger lurked everywhere here. Mortis was not overly concerned, being an immortal horse and all, but all those hidden watchers were a bit bothersome.

.xXx.

"Jack! Jack!" little Barrel shouted, running into Town Hall at top speed and slamming hard into the dais before he could stop. "_Jack_!"

"Barrel—What…?" said Jack, bewildered, as he stepped from the Mayor's office. Demos and the little official peered around the tall skull-demon as Lock panted and attempted to catch his breath.

"There's…a human…in Town…" the pretend skeleton gasped. "Vlad spotted him…just outside the graveyard…he says it's coming here!"

A stunned silence greeted this, but it did not last long.

"Mayor!" Jack barked, instantly taking command. "Get Vlad and the other vampires, they can travel the fastest. Have them bring everyone here as quietly as possible."

"O-of course Jack," the Mayor muttered, and scurried off to do as he was told.

"Barrel, fetch your siblings," Jack continued, and Barrel rushed out to find Lock and Shock. "Demos, stay here, I'm going to get the others."

"Dad, can't I—"

"No. Stay here."

With that Jack swept out with quick, long strides that carried him quickly across town and up the steps of his own home.

"Sally! Jeza! Romy!" he shouted as he wrenched open the door. Sally was in the kitchen, working on dinner, and looked up at his alarmed call. Her oldest son, Romulus, glanced from the book he'd been reading while Jeza peeked out from her bedroom door.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Sally asked, already worried at the look on her husband's face.

"I'll explain later," Jack replied tersely. "Get the kids and come with me. We're all gathering at Town Hall."

Without a word Sally and her children followed him outside, joining the group hurrying towards the Hall, many glancing back furtively as if they feared a monster were chasing them. Briefly, Sally wondered if Oogie Boogie was back.

"Dad, what's going on?" Romy asked, as they entered the Hall.

"There's a human in town," Jack announced once he was sure everyone was present. A collective gasp went up in surprise, and Jack waited for everyone to settle down before continuing. "I don't know how it got in, but we need to find out why it's here, and make it leave."

"It's only a boy, anyway," Cain, the head vampire, drawled in disinterest. "He won't give us trouble."

"Was he a virgin?" Lestat, another vampire, asked hopefully. "Virgin blood tastes so much sweeter…"

"No," Vlad replied flatly, a hint of disappointment in his voice, while his brother Dorian nodded in silent agreement.

"No blood-sucking, whether or not he's a virgin," Jack ordered sternly, at which the vampires sullenly hissed. But they nodded in compliance, and filed out with the others to deal with the intruder. Whoever had dared enter their town would gravely regret it.

.xXx.

Kelly stared into the murky green waters of a rather morbid-looking fountain, sitting in what he surmised to be the middle of a very small and very creepy town. It was the kind of place you'd expect to see in a cheap horror flick, and Kelly kept glancing about in nervous anticipation, just waiting for some zombie to come shuffling around the corner…

He shook his head. _Come on, Kelly, get a grip,_ he berated angrily. _This is no time to be scaring the shit out of yourself. There's nothing…_

But that thought died when he saw the first corpse stagger through a dark doorway and begin to slowly hobble in his direction. It was very small, just barely reaching his knees, but somehow that made it worse. Zombies were scary. Baby zombies were terrifying; there was just something so _wrong_ about them. This one was rather fat, and it toddled in such an awful way, a grotesque mockery of all children. Someone had sewn its eyelids shut with what looked like black yarn, but it knew exactly where he was.

Kelly stood frozen, every muscle seizing as he stared in horror-stricken fascination at this appalling thing. Suddenly all the shadows were stirring, as unseen things writhed, and he started hearing the most terrible sounds. Scraping, growling, gnashing, clawing…and all at once the town came to life as things began to move.

Then something yanked at his cloak, and he looked down at the creature that had crawled from the fountain, something part fish and part human, with the teeth of sharks and huge pale eyes. Kelly stared at it for half a second before he lost himself completely and started screaming until his throat ran raw and his lungs caught fire. Wildly, he threw himself away from the kappa, but its grip was like iron and it held him fast. Again and again Kelly flailed and fought, while the little zombie drew closer and a hundred monsters pressed in from all sides.

"Master, calm down," Mortis ordered. "As long as you wear the cloak you can not be harmed." The horse was stamping and snorting, his ears flat against his skull in discomfort, but he wasn't too disturbed. The kappa wrenched at the cloak, and Kelly had to put out a hand to keep from falling into the water. Panting, trying not to panic again, he swung the scythe at the demon's head with a sharp cry. The kappa let him go and ducked under the blade right quick, letting out a gurgling snarl. Kelly jumped away and held the scythe up in what he hoped to be a threatening manner.

"Don't come any closer!" he shouted at the encroaching monsters. "I'll cut you!"

They paused a moment, eyeing the Death Scythe warily, and muttered softly to each other. Kelly glanced around, looking for a way out, but there was nowhere to run; he was surrounded on all sides. Then something latched unto his leg and he looked down to find the zombie boy, grinning up at him with a mouthful of rotten teeth. Kelly's flesh crawled, and he shoved at the thing with the scythe's handle, wanting it to let go but hesitating to actually hurt it. It _was_ just a baby, after all.

The kappa chose that moment to spring from the fountain and seized him around the shoulders. With a shout Kelly ripped away, and felt the cloak come off in the kappa's hands while the bottom of his stomach dropped out. Everything went black. Without his hood it was if all the shadows came crawling back, and all the monsters were swallowed up. But they were still there, and he was left blind in the dark.

"Mortis…!" he called in alarm, when suddenly two skeletal hands closed over Kelly's relatively small fists from behind, and pinned him with his own weapon. His back was pressed against something hard and cold and he twisted, struggling to get a look at his attacker. But all he got was an impression of someone tall and white before it leaned down and nuzzled his ear.

"Don't move, little boy," it purred, sending shivers shooting down the Reaper's spine. Immediately Kelly stopped fighting, his heart thundering a tattoo against his ribcage, and he trembled against his captor. A sense of hopelessness settled in his stomach, and he sagged in defeat.

.xXx.

Jack watched from the shadows as the cloaked boy wandered into town, carrying a scythe and accompanied by a pale horse. He waved a hand when the boy paused by the fountain, the hooded face worriedly turning this way and that. Little Billy nodded up at the Pumpkin King, smiling as he toddled out towards the human, who froze upon seeing him.

When Undine grabbed his cloak the boy screamed—quite beautifully—and tried to run. That's when the rest of the townsfolk began to emerge, and the human's struggles took on a note of intoxicating panic. But then the boy turned and slashed at the water imp, forcing Undine to dodge away, and just in time. Jack saw the steel blade pass just over the kappa's head-fins, and a cold fear settled in his bones, right down to the marrow. He knew he'd seen that weapon before, but he couldn't remember where; all he knew was there was something _bad_ about the scythe and they had to get it away from the kid fast.

"Demos see what you can do about that blade," he said, glancing at his son. "We can't have him cutting people up."

"Yes sir!" Demos replied, throwing a smart salute before he slipped out the door and melted into the gloom. Then Undine jumped up and tore the cloak away, revealing a very panic-stricken young man. He couldn't have been older than fifteen, with short wavy ginger hair and blue eyes. Dressed in a ripped shirt and loose pants, he stood his ground and brandished he scythe menacingly. But it was obvious he could no longer see, and Demos easily snuck up from behind.

Jack nodded grimly, drew himself up to his full height, and approached the human with eyes like flint. The blood drained from the boy's face at the sight of him, and he looked like he was about to faint in Demos' arms. The young Prince felt his bones rattle, the boy was shaking so hard, and he held him closer in an attempt to still the little human.

"How did you get here?" Jack demanded, standing imposingly over the child, his long arms crossed over his chest, jaw set angrily.

"I…I ca-came through a c-crypt in the ce-cemetery," the boy gasped, staring up at the Pumpkin King with wide eyes, his narrow chest heaving. There was something wrong about the boy, something beyond mere fright, and it hinted he had been through too much and was on the verge of a mental breakdown. It was in his eyes, in his voice, in the way his breathing came ragged and swift.

Unfortunately, Jack wouldn't notice the danger signs until it was too late.

.xXx.

_Is this how it's going to end…?_ Kelly thought, tears already burning his eyes as the monster held him tight. _First I'm shot, and now this…Someone up there must really hate me to want me dead this much._

Something was moving in the mist, and Kelly looked up to find a strange sight coming towards him. A walking skeleton, dressed in a black pin-stripe suit. It sharply reminded Kelly of Death, but this one was so ridiculously morbid he wasn't sure whether to scream or laugh.

"How did you get here?" the skeleton wanted to know, and through a fog Kelly heard himself answer, although he wasn't sure what he'd said. It was all just so insane, and Kelly wondered if he had not lost his mind long ago. Or he was dreaming and everything that had happened was all simply a horrible nightmare. All the grotesque things surrounding him on all sides were merely figments of his imagination…or perhaps he really had died and this was some twisted kind of hell. There was even a Satan, leering at him from the shadows and brandishing his pitch fork…

Kelly actually felt the snap as his mind finally went bye-bye, and he dissolved into a helpless fit of hysterics, giggling giddily at the absurdity of it all. The pin-striped skeleton pulled back in utter confusion, mystified at Kelly's unexpected reaction, and glanced at his comrades. They, however, were as baffled as he was, and eyed Kelly like one would a crazy person.

_Well, if I'm going to die I'm not going down without a fight,_ he thought stubbornly, braced himself against his captor, brought up both feet, and kicked hard square into Pin Stripe's chest. The thing holding him let out a cry of surprise, reeling back as Kelly threw himself back, and they both toppled into the fountain. Kelly felt his head strike against the stone wall, and then he was underwater and everything went black.

.xXx.

"Demos!" Jack yelled, scrambling off the ground and rushing to the fountain's edge, cursing himself for being caught off guard. His hand plunged under water, searching, feeling, but he couldn't find anything and neither Demos nor the boy were coming up…

Then suddenly someone grabbed his arm, and Jack wrenched upward, pulling his youngest twin from the water. Demos sputtered and choked, struggling to regain his breath and pointing at the fountain.

"That kid…" he panted. "I lost him…Someone…"

"Make way, stand aside," ordered Lock, pushing to the front of the crowd and crouching upon the stone rim, thrusting his abnormally long tail down into the murky depths. He felt around for what seemed like hours, then grinned as he caught upon something and yanked, bringing up the boy. He was unconscious, but fortunately still breathing.

"Well, now what do we do with him?" the devil asked, taking the boy in his arms and turning to Jack. The Pumpkin King considered for a moment, and sighed.

"Jack…" Sally murmured softly.

"I know," he answered, wearily. "We'll put him up until he recovers. He can stay in one of the guest bedrooms…"

"No, he can sleep in my bed," Demos offered. "And call Dr. Finklestein, I think he hit his head so he might have a concussion."

"His name's Kelly," said the horse, completely undisturbed by the little mummy boy currently standing under him. Jack and the others stared at him in surprised intrigue—they hadn't really paid much attention to the animal before, but now they could see it was an imposing creature, and one that would fit in with their bizarre little bunch quite nicely if its emancipated and skeletal appearance had anything to do with it.

"Alright," said Jack, regaining himself. "Kelly, then. We'll figure out what to do with him when he wakes up."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: Disclaiming NBC, so you lawyers better _recognize_. **

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW PLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or I won't write anymore! So there!

Cal


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